EXCERPTS FROM EXTERNAL NEWS ARTICLES REGARDING THE NEW YORK FOOTBALL GIANTS ARE POSTED UNDER THEIR SOURCES. MISCELLANEOUS SPORTS ARTICLES ARE POSTED UNDER THE "MISCELLANEOUS" SECTION AT THE END OF THE THREAD. LINKS FOR ALL LISTED SOURCES ARE INCLUDED TO ALLOW MEMBERS TO INDEPENDENTLY BROWSE AT THEIR LEISURE.

NEWARK STAR LEDGER

GIANTS TEST YOUNG PUNT RETURNERS IN FIRST PRACTICE SINCE MISCUES AGAINST JAGUARS (http://www.nj.com/giants/index.ssf/2012/08/giants_test_young_punt_returne.html)

Excerpt: "Before I get to the action, there was an enlightening and humorous exchange between Tom Coughlin and the reporters at his press conference today in regard toMartellus Bennett.
It began with a question from a reporter about Bennett being an interesting guy and what he’s like to Coughlin.

“He’s an interesting guy,” Coughlin repeated with a laugh. Asked to elaborate, he said, “I wouldn’t have the proper vocabulary.”
Okay, so how much does Coughlin allow Bennett to be himself?“Oh, he’s himself. There isn’t any question about that. And he’s gotten a lot better at that,” Coughlin said, chuckling through this next part: “I didn’t hear any of the stuff that he said, but it’s been reported to me some of the things he’s said.”By that, Coughlin surely means the “Black Unicorn” (http://www.nj.com/giants/index.ssf/2012/08/giants_martellus_bennett_pushi.html) et al." Read more...

##

GIANTS' WILL BEATTY RETURNS TO PRACTICE AFTER SITTING OUT WITH A NAGGING BACK ACHE (http://www.nj.com/giants/index.ssf/2012/08/giants_will_beatty_returns_to.html)

Excerpt: "These dorm-room mattresses just aren't cutting it for these overgrown NFL professionals.

"It’s. Not. Home," Giants (http://www.nj.com/giants) left tackle Will Beatty said today, with emphasis on each word to make his point, on his way to lunch here at UAlbany. "You spend a lot of money getting your house right and then you come here and it just ain’t the same. You hit up Wal-Mart a few times, get some Tempur-Pedic toppers, your own blankets and, eh, it’s not the same."Fortunately I got a full-size bed. Some of the guys are in twin beds. So I can roll over once or twice and not fall off."Wait, why are we talking about beds exactly? Oh, right, because Beatty has been battling a nagging back issue (http://www.nj.com/giants/index.ssf/2012/08/giants_will_beatty_says_tests.html) that knocked him out of practice last week and kept him here while the team traveled to Jacksonville for the preseason opener." Read more...

ROOKIE LINEBACKER JAKE MAUSAU IS A LONGSHOT WITH THE GIANTS, BUT HE'S ALREADY BEATEN THE ODDS (http://www.nj.com/giants/index.ssf/2012/08/rookie_linebacker_jake_muasau.html)

Excerpt: "The tap on the van window came in the middle of the night, the officer telling them the park was closed. Jake Muasau, then 12, sleepy-eyed, saw the flashlight shine through as the policeman peered into the rear of the Windstar van where Jake and his older brother Louie were sleeping.

Their mother, in the driver’s seat, said everything was all right.The boys, in hushed voices, pleaded for her to tell the truth. Tell the officer they had no place to go, no bed to sleep in. Their mother’s pride would not relent. Everything is fine, she told the officer instead, and she pulled out of the park. Low on gas and short on money, they took off, not knowing where they’d land up.“We’d just ride on faith,” Muasau remembers." Read more...

GIANTS' ROOKIE DAVID WILSON HAD SOME BIG UPS--AND SOME BIG DOWNS IN HIS FIRST PRESEASON GAME (http://www.nj.com/giants/index.ssf/2012/08/giants_rookie_david_wilson_had.html)

Excerpt: "Running back David Wilson said he wasn’t nervous when he took the field for the first time as a member of the Giants on Friday night.
He showed it with his first touch, a 28-yard kickoff return to begin the game.Later on, he accumulated 43 rushing yards on seven carries, busting out gains of 26 and 17, to go with two receptions for 26 yards.He also recorded a 48-yard kick return, showcasing the speed that made him an All-American track athlete at Virginia Tech.He caught Tom Coughlin’s eye when he hustled down the field to block the first defender on a punt return." Read more...

GIANTS' VICTOR CRUZ USES PRESEASON OPENER TO GET USED TO CONTACT ONCE AGAIN (http://www.nj.com/giants/index.ssf/2012/08/giants_victor_cruz_uses_presea.html)

Excerpt: "Victor Cruzworked enough in traffic last season to know he should've made the catch on a pass that went right through his hands in Friday night's preseason opener against the Jaguars.

"I have to come down with that one," the Giants' franchise record holder for receiving yards in a season said afterward. "Just expect the hit and go up and get the football. But that’s what these preseason games are for, to go out there and work on your craft. Hopefully I get another shot at it and come up with that one."
Cruz said he anticipated the contact from Jags safety Dawan Landry, who was lurking and, after the play, barking. In camp, Cruz doesn't have to worry about getting whacked. Now, he must remember what it's like." Read more...

Excerpt: "The Victor Cruz (http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Victor+Cruz) fairy tale still seems “crazy” to the man who lived it, even now that he’s a best-selling author, Grammy presenter and superstar. It was just two years ago that he was an unknown kid from Jersey out of UMass who had mostly been ignored by NFL scouts.

Then lightning struck for Cruz and the Giants.

Now Julian Talley is hoping it will strike again.

Talley is Victor Cruz — at least the pre-superstardom version.

He’s a kid from Jersey who went to UMass and, like Cruz, wasn’t good enough to even get an invitation to the NFL scouting combine. And just like Cruz two years ago, the 23-year-old Talley is now an undrafted free agent at Giants training camp, desperately hoping to make the team." Read more...

BE WARE: GIANTS' RUNNING BACK DJ WARE HAS BIG OPPORTUNITY WITH B JACOBS OUT OF THE BACKFIELD (http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/giants/ny-giants-running-back-ware-big-opportunity-brandon-jaobs-backfield-article-1.1134667)

Excerpt: "He spent the offseason adding six pounds of muscle to his already-thick frame, knowing all along that this would be his chance. And he opened the most important preseason of his life in style on Friday night against the Jaguars, rumbling for 30 yards on five carries and scoring the Giants’ first touchdown.

“You can’t never let up, man,” Ware said. “I have that young guy (Wilson) behind me. He’s definitely making a push for the No. 2 spot, so I just have to keep going, keep staying consistent and making plays.” Read more...

Excerpt: "Maybe Tom Coughlin would’ve felt differently if he hadn’t been the beneficiary of the game’s biggest blown call, but the Giants coach chose gave a pass to the replacement officials who worked his team’s preseason opener on Friday night. He even praised them for their effort.

That’s about the only nice thing he could think of to say.

“It is something that’s totally out of my control so I’m not going to spend a lot of time worrying about that,” Coughlin said on a conference call with reporters on Saturday. “I’m thinking that these people try. As a matter of fact, standing on the sidelines just watching them work, I mean they’re trying as hard as they can to do the best job they can." Read more...

SITE LINK (http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/giants)

NEW YORK POST

GIANTS' COACH DOES THE ROBOT TO HAMMER HOME A POINT (http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/giantsblog/giants_coach_does_the_robot_to_hammer_e4n8nlvOGMOW vINUJjz19K)

Excerpt: "Tom Coughlin stomped around acting like a robot.

Really.

It happened on Sunday afternoon after practice, when he was discussing new tight end Martellus Bennett, who has displayed a colorful personality. Coughlin was told that Bennett “seems like an interesting guy’’ and was asked what he’s like to coach.

GIANTS' ROOKIES SHOW THEY HAVE THE GOODS (http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/giants/right_from_the_start_mohM8GomN55qLATpPszSIM)

Excerpt: "Until you know, you don’t know. Or, at the very least, you cannot be sure you know. That’s the thought process David Wilson carried into his live-action introduction to the NFL.

The rookie running back knew he possessed great speed and suspected he would be hard to catch no matter who was trying to bring him down. But until he actually got out on the field he was unsure if what got him to the NFL was good enough.

Now he knows.

“It’s a weird feeling — my speed translates to the next level,’’ Wilson said after Friday night’s 32-31 preseason-opening loss to the Jaguars. “Felt like college again a little bit. I had a lot of fun out there.’’ Read more...

Excerpt: "Tom Coughlin certainly isn’t going to cast aside Jayron Hosley and Jerrel Jernigan after their muffed punts in Friday night’s preseason loss in Jacksonville, but Saturday the Giants coach said, “I’ve not been around a team that’s given away 10 points by simply muffing a kick, and there is no excuse for that.’’

“I’ve got enough confidence in my hands to catch punts,’’ Randle said. “It’s all about concentration though, I think a couple guys were worried about moving before they caught the ball, maybe took their eyes off it for a split second.’’ Read more...

SITE LINK (http://www.nypost.com/sports/giants)

THE BERGEN RECORD

GIANTS' ROOKIE DAVID WILSON ON THE FAST TRACK (http://www.northjersey.com/sports/165888966_Giants__rookie_RB_David_Wilson_on_fast_t rack.html)

Excerpt: "David Wilson kept watching the time run off the scoreboard.

Every second that passed brought the rookie closer to the moment for which he, teammates and essentially an entire fan base had been desperately waiting.
The Giants got to see Wilson on the opening kickoff Friday night, in a pair of first-half returns actually, as the first-round draft pick from Virginia Tech teasingly showed his breakaway speed in the open field.What everyone needed to see next was Wilson’s tantalizing potential as a running back.
That group, of course, included Wilson himself.

So as he waited, like everybody else, he wondered not if, but when. "I was never really nervous, more excited and just looking at the clock the whole time waiting for my opportunity to go in and show what I can do," Wilson said. "I knew first half I wouldn’t play on offense, and in the second half I knew my time was coming around. I was just watching the clock anticipating, watching the guys who went ahead of me because they did it before and this is my first time doing it."
Wilson paused before adding with a smile: "It was fun." Read more...

Jackson was signed as an undrafted free agent out of McNeese State in late April, and was considered an early favorite to surprise and make the 53-man roster. However, after struggling in camp, Big Blue has decided to go in a different direction." Read more...

##

GIANTS' ANTREL ROLLE SAYS THE GAME ON SATURDAY IS ABOUT US, NOT TIM TEBOW (http://www.giants101.com/2012/08/12/new-york-giants-antrel-rolle-this-saturday-is-about-us-not-tim-tebow/)

Excerpt: "This Saturday, the New York Giants (http://www.giants101.com/tag/new-york-giants/)will take on the New York (http://www.giants101.com/tag/new-york/) Jets in week two of the preseason, and already Tim Tebow has dominated the chatter. Then again, is anyone really surprised? The Gang Green backup quarterback has been the center of attention since being traded from the Denver Broncos in late March, and recently had an entire week of SportsCenter devoted to him.
With Big Blue coming off of their second Super Bowl championship in four years, one would think focus would rest squarely on them, but that hasn't been the case … and it's just the way they like it. However, the Tebowfest is beginning to wear thin for some, and safety Antrel Rolle was quick remind everyone that this Saturday is about the defending champions and their quest for a repeat, and not Mr. Tebow.

“No… it’s not going to be about Tebow. It’s about us," Rolle said." Read more...

TOM COUGHLIN HAS "NO ILLUJSIONS" THE GIANTS NEED IMPROVEMENT FROM TOP TO BOTTOM (http://www.giants101.com/2012/08/12/tom-coughlin-has-no-illusion-that-new-york-giants-need-improvement-from-top-to-bottom/)

Excerpt: "There were many positives to be taken away from Friday's 32-31 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars (http://www.giants101.com/2012/08/10/new-york-giants-fall-to-jacksonville-jaguars-32-31-in-preseason-opener/), but make no mistake about it, head coach Tom Coughlin (http://www.giants101.com/tag/tom-coughlin/)believes the New York (http://www.giants101.com/tag/new-york/) Giants have quite a bit of room for improvement. And during a Saturday afternoon conference call, he made sure to point out that it's not just the third team and other reserves that need to play better, but the starters as well." Read more...

GIANTS SHOW SERIOUS DEPTH AFTER FIRST PRESEASON GAME (http://www.giants101.com/2012/08/12/new-york-giants-show-serious-depth-after-first-preseason-game/)

Excerpt: "As the dust begins to settle from the New York Giants' 32-31 loss (http://www.giants101.com/2012/08/10/new-york-giants-fall-to-jacksonville-jaguars-32-31-in-preseason-opener/) to the Jacksonville Jaguars, one thing has become readily apparent: head coachTom Coughlin (http://www.giants101.com/tag/tom-coughlin/) is going to have a painstakingly miserable time cutting the roster from 90 players down to the final 53. Throughout the course of the contest, there were several players that displayed unexpected flashes of brilliance. However, several of these players are also facing immense uphill battles to secure a roster spot." Read more...

GIANTS' MARTELLUS BENNETT: "I HAVE A LONG, LONG WAY TO GO" (http://www.giants101.com/2012/08/11/new-york-giants-martellus-bennett-i-have-a-long-long-way-to-go/)

Excerpt: "During the New York Giants (http://www.giants101.com/tag/new-york-giants/)' 32-31 preseason loss (http://www.giants101.com/2012/08/10/new-york-giants-fall-to-jacksonville-jaguars-32-31-in-preseason-opener/) to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Friday night, tight end Martellus Bennett (http://www.giants101.com/tag/martellus-bennett/) was one of the many payers who flashed. The fifth-year veteran hauled in three passes (on three targets) for 27 yards and a touchdown, proving that he's got more to offer the team than just his superb blocking ability. However, after the game Bennett was humble and uncharacteristically subdued, acknowledging that he's far from comfortable in the offense and still has a long way to go." Read more...

CUTS LOOM FOR PLAYERS ON THE BUBBLE (http://www.giants101.com/2012/08/11/cuts-loom-for-on-the-bubble-new-york-giants-players/)

Excerpt: "While the NFL (http://www.giants101.com/tag/nfl/) fans of the world are frothing and chomping at the preseason bit, there are some that aren’t. Soon, the line: “Coach wants to see you in his office” will be uttered to players putting all they’ve got on the line.

The first bit of roster-trimming -during offseason- is prior to training camps where most of the now 90-man roster (up from 80) is on the active list. However, in just about two weeks -under NFL (http://www.giants101.com/tag/nfl/) bylaws- first “active” (hark back to this word repeatedly, later) list cuts are on the Tuesday after the third preseason weekend: August 27, by 4:00pm EST. The roster must be slimmed down to 75 active players, so there are now 15 men fighting for their Big Blue lives in the next few weeks." Read more...

Excerpt: "Here is your New York Giants (http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/teams/new-york-giants) training camp practice report for Sunday. There are only two more practices at UAlbany before the Giants return to the Timex Performance Center.
INJURY REPORTOffensive tackle Will Beatty (http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/players/71290/will-beatty) returned to practice. Coach Tom Coughlin described Beatty, dealing with sciatica, as "limited." ... Running back Da'Rel Scott (http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/players/131043/da-rel-scott) also returned to practice. ... Wide receiver David Douglas (http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/players/155781/david-douglas) (quad) was out, as were center Jim Cordle (http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/players/109583/jim-cordle) (knee), Michael Boley (http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/players/1115/michael-boley) (hamstring) and Jacquain Williams (hip). ... Cornerback Michael Coe (http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/players/19061/michael-coe) left practice with some type of leg ailment. ... Reserve tackle James Brewer (http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/players/130992/james-brewer) left practice early with back stiffness." Read more...

Excerpt: "Let's just say that, to put it mildly, New York Giants (http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/teams/new-york-giants) coach Tom Coughlin was not nearly as happy with the way his team played on Friday night as he was the last time the Giants took the field.
"We’ve got a lot of things to correct and we’re not going to deny any of the issues that were present," Coughlin said Saturday during a conference call with reporters (http://here are some of coughlin's remarks on saturday during a conference call with reporters./). "We’re going to work hard to solve them and we’re going to work hard to improve our roster from top to bottom."After the jump, much more of what the Giants coach had to say." Read more...

Excerpt: "The biggest question that came out of the New York Giants' 32-31 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Friday's preseason opener? What in the world are the Giants going to do about finding a punt returner?

Options one and two, rookie Jayron Hosley and second-year man Jerrel Jernigan, failed miserably on Friday night.
Hosley had a 20-yard return, but muffed a punt inside the 20-yard line that led to a Jacksonville field goal.“I didn’t set myself up in a good position,” Hosley said. “I took a couple steps back and didn’t look it in. It kind of drifted on me, but you have to be aware of what’s around you and who’s coming, so I felt I could have been more focused on it.” Read more...

SITE LINK (http://www.bigblueview.com/section/news)

GMENHQ

SITE LINK (http://gmenhq.com/)

YARDBARKER.COM

SITE LINK (http://www.yardbarker.com/nfl/teams/new_york_giants/56)

INSIDE FOOTBALL

MARTELLUS BENNETT IS LIVING THE LIFE OF A GIANT (http://insidefootball.com/blog/archives/4908)

Excerpt: "New Giants tight end Martellus Bennett hasn’t been shy about expressing his thoughts. In fact, the colorful Bennett has quickly become a favorite go-to guy for his candid, offbeat, and unique thoughts.
But just who is Martellus Bennett, and why is he so misunderstood?" Read more...

SITE LINK (http://www.insidefootball.com/)

THE RED ZONE

SITE LINK (http://www.theredzone.org/)

GIANTSFOOTBALLBLOG

SITE LINK (http://www.giantsfootballblog.com/)

NFL.COM

SITE LINK (http://www.nfl.com/teams/newyorkgiants/profile?team=NYG)

SI.COM

SITE LINK (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/nfl/teams/new-york-giants/?eref=sinav)

ESPN

KEITH RIVERS RETURNS TO THE LAND OF THE FOOTBALL LIVING (http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/giants/post/_/id/15850/keith-rivers-returns-to-land-of-the-football-living)

Excerpt: "When linebacker Keith Rivers (http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11243/keith-rivers) started in place of the injured Michael Boley (http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/8574/michael-boley)against the Jaguars on Friday night, it was his first NFL game action since Jan. 2, 2011.

Rivers, who played all three of his previous seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals, missed last year with a wrist injury. He thought he would be more nervous than he was Friday.

"It was good to get back into the swing of things and be amongst the land of the football living," said Rivers, who finished the game with two solo tackles. " Read more...

##

THE DAY AFTER: COUGLIN'S ASSESSMENT (http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/giants/post/_/id/15822/the-day-after-coughlins-assessment)

Excerpt: "Tom Coughlin was encouraged by some of the performances he got from certain individuals in Friday's preseason-opening game, but he also sees a lot of things to work on for the defending champs.

Coughlin said the team emerged from the 32-31 loss to Jacksonville without any major injuries, but he also said he had not had his meeting with the medical staff on Saturday before talking to reporters. " Read more...